The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Planetary bodies such as the moon and Mars may be explored in future by means of manned and/or unmanned space vehicles. Navigators on earth traditionally have used star constellations for navigation and pointing purposes. Navigational techniques can include the use of ground stations to triangulate orbital position as well as the use of previously gathered knowledge as to the earth's gravitational fields. Flights to other planets, however, may present navigational challenges. Ground stations are entirely lacking on other planetary bodies. Effects of local irregularities in planetary gravitational fields could cause uncertainty in determining the orbital positioning of a space vehicle over time. Although such irregularities have been comprehensively characterized for the earth, this is not true for other planetary bodies.